


Coming to Terms

by autumnwritesoccasionally



Category: Triple Frontier (2019)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26602903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnwritesoccasionally/pseuds/autumnwritesoccasionally
Summary: You can't hide this from Will anymore.
Relationships: William "Ironhead" Miller/Reader
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

“How much gum could you _possibly_ go through by yourself?”

Will pauses, hand in mid air while reaching out for _another_ bulk pack of spearmint and side eyes you from his position in the candy aisle.

“A lot.”

You huff out a laugh and roll your eyes. “Okay, well since you’re gonna be here awhile, I’ll head over to produce.”

You’re inspecting the Honeycrisp Apples when you see him. At once your blood runs cold. You can’t tear your eyes from him but he’s oblivious to you, carrying on with his shopping.

His face. You had tried so hard to bury his face in the depths of your head. To erase it from your brain completely–and all the horrible, shit memories that go with it.

Memories that start to flood back in. Slowly at first, but then they’re overwhelming, making you dizzy. The hand on your cart turning white from your grip. You feel like you’re underwater, so out of sorts that you don’t notice Will approaching your side.

“So I did get a few more packs, but I also got your favorite–”

Will stops in his tracks next to you, noticing the state you’re in.

“–babe?” 

The color drained from your fear stricken face coupled with your entire body visibly shaking has him immediately on alert. He takes in the situation around you, not sensing any danger near. 

Shifting from defensive mode to one of concern, Will pries the apple from your hand and tries to turn you to face him, but your feet are rooted to the ground.

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” 

You give no answer, not even registering his voice. Will knows the signs of a panic attack and he searches your face for anything that will point to the cause of it. 

Will tries to get your attention again, a little more desperate. “ _Y/N_.”

He follows your line of sight, seeing the man that has your attention.

“Who is that, Y/N?” 

The slight edge in his tone finally gets through and you’re able to turn your head to look at him. You open your mouth to answer, but can’t seem form words. You feel your breathing start to pick up and reach for Will’s hand, gripping it hard.

Will has a feeling that he has reason to hurt the man just 20 feet away from you, but you’re his first priority and he needs to get you out of here. He grabs your bag and leaves your cart–groceries and all–in the middle of the produce section, “Babe, let’s go.”

When you don’t make a move to follow him he brings one hand up to your cheek, leaning down to look you in the eye. 

“I’ve got you, love.”

He wraps his arm around you protectively and leads you out of the store, growling under his breath to himself.

_“Fucking grocery stores.”_


	2. Chapter 2

The silence on the drive home was not the comfortable kind that you and Will often shared. He spared a concerned glance at you every chance he could take his eyes off the road, not pushing you to say something, but hoping you would. 

Every instinct in Will’s body–both as a soldier and a man who wanted nothing more than to keep you safe–told him to turn the car around find _that motherfucker_. He hadn’t formed a plan much beyond that point, he didn’t have enough information– _yet_ , but he still thought it was a pretty good plan. He’s betting he could get Benny in on it. Fish, too. 

That would have to wait though. 

Back in the grocery store, he had a mission: to get you out of there. Now, sitting in the car–and on the way to most likely sit in silence at home–he didn’t know what to do. Will Miller thrived on order, on having a system in place. On having a plan. and a plan B. and a plan C.

But this– he has no plan for this. You had flinched when he had tried to hold your hand at the beginning of the drive. Actually _flinched_. You were in pain, that much was obvious. He could see you trying to work through something in your head, and he knew he needed to give you the space to do that. Clutching the steering wheel, Will had to keep himself from speeding the whole way back. He wanted to get you home, to make you feel safe. Maybe then he could get you to talk to him.

Through your peripheral vision you could see the pained expression on Will’s face every time he turned to look at you. Any other time your heart would warm at the thought that he was so concerned. But right now you couldn’t focus on much of anything. You were stuck staring straight ahead through the windshield, hands clenched together in your lap.

You were thinking everything…and nothing.

You felt numb but also buzzed with awareness.

Were the cars flying by you? Or moving in slow motion?

It was stupid to think you could bury this. To hide this from Will forever. You _had_ done it to protect him, as cliche as it sounded. Even though it made sense at the time, you know at a certain point the truth should’ve come out. He didn’t deserve the lies, the secrecy. Guilt poured over you in huge waves. 

Hot tears pooled in your eyes, you bit the inside of your cheek, trying desperately to keep them from falling over.

Suddenly, you feel hands on your cheeks, Will is standing over you, brushing tears away with his thumbs. You didn’t even realize you had arrived at your apartment already–or noticed Will round the car and open your door.

“Oh, babe…” Will breathed out, his voice thick. His eyes shining, he looks so worried–almost scared–and you realize you’ve never seen Will scared before. Ever. Now in this moment, even if it’s in the damn apartment parking lot, you need this to be done. You need it to be over. You have to know that it was real.

Pushing through the lump in your throat and your own fear, you finally force the words out–and you can’t dance around it, you need to rip the band-aid off. You take Will’s hands in your own, gripping them for support.

“I…I was a-attacked…” Your voice is so small you don’t even recognize it.

Will’s hands tighten their grip. Not enough to hurt you, but you know he’s tensing himself for you to continue. You close your eyes, not able to look at him, or anything while you utter the words out loud for possibly the first time. 

“The man…at the store. I didn’t know him, but I know his face.” You pause, taking a deep breath. “I’ll never forget his face–” The last word breaks off in a sob. You grip Will’s hands tighter, recovering quickly. _You can do this._

Will’s pretty certain he knows already, but he has to ask. He has to know for sure. “Did he–” he can’t finish, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.” Your voice is weak, but not shaky. A couple more tears escape in a mixture of pain and relief. Opening your eyes, you finally look at Will, not sure what you’ll find.

Will has let go of your hands and is gripping the top of the car above his head, his eyes closed. His face is set in a hard mask and he’s afraid to move. All of his will power is being tested in this moment and he’s not sure he’s up for the task. 

He needs his ten seconds. Somehow you sense this, “take your ten, Will.” This was something Will needed from time to time. To let out his aggression and stay in control. It was something it took him a long time to learn, and it was something you loved him for.

 _God, you really are the strongest fucking person he know_ s, Will thinks. In this moment where _you’re_ in pain, vulnerable–you recognize that _he_ is, too. Even if he doesn’t deserve to be.

Will backs up and retreats to the back of the car. Taking a deep breath in, he lets all of the anger course through him. As if he can feel it fueling his blood, he flexes his fists. Yelling out, he throws his fist into the back of the vehicle, leaving a small dent. He leans forward, bracing himself with both arms stretched out on the back windshield and takes several deep breaths. 

Just as quickly, the anger seeps out of him, and Will is at your side again. He brings you into his arms, crushing you to his chest. One hand snaked through your hair and another around your waist, Will was holding you as if trying to build a wall of protection around you with his body. You feel his own tears on the top of your head and that’s when you lose it. Sobs wrack your body and you pull into Will, your shaking form a stark contrast to his solid one. 

“When?” Will’s question hangs in the air.

Your body stills. This is the part that will hurt him the most.

“About six months ago…” You say vaguely.

Hoping that answer will be enough that he won’t question it more. But Will is smart. Too smart. As soon as you say it you know he’s calculating in his head, going back to find a timeline that make sense. 

You know it as soon as he made the connection. As soon as he’s realized that this happened while you were together.

He pulls away and leans down to look you in the eye, a look of pure anguish distorting his beautiful features. 

“When you were in that car accident?”

“…yeah.”

A long stretch of silence passes between you as Will thinks of what to say. You know his next question, you just can’t decide what your answer will be yet.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You wince at the pain in Will’s voice. Tears are streaming down to your neck and soaking into your shirt, but you don’t move to wipe them away. “I couldn’t hear much…something about money…about a fire…” You pause.

If you lie now, there’s no going back. 

“He…he said that it was for you, Will. You and the guys.”

Realization dawns on Will. Fear, anger, and guilt grip him in equal measure. 

Lorea.

Lorea’s men did this. 

_He_ did this.


End file.
